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The focus of Death in the novel and its impact on various characters and the plot.
Write the first paragraph of your page here. Chapters 1-4 Death is focused all throughout the beginning of the book and plays a key role all throughout the novel. Not only does Death affect the deceased, but it also affect the ones close to the deceased, especially the family. For example, when Mr. Lockwood is grabbed by a ghost with the appearance of Catherine, he yells out for help. Mr. Heathcliff comes in but the ghost is gone. He then goes onto the bed and "wrenched open the lattice, bursting, as he pulled at it, into an uncontrollable passion of tears" (Bronte 30). Catherine meant a whole lot to Heathcliff as he states, "Oh! my heart's darling!" (Bronte 31). Through Heathcliff's pain and agony, the reader is able to notice that the death of Catherine has influenced Heathcliff a great deal. A part of him is gone. A loss of a life and a loved one can influence one's thoughts and actions because that one person may feel as if a part of their life was taken away in a heartbeat. Sam Knell Chapters 5-8 In Chapters 5-8 in the novel, Wuthering Heights, ''the death of Frances displays a key example of how death affects both everyone in the houses and the plot itself in the novel. In Chapter 8, Frances catches a fever that seems very deadly. Kenneth told Mr. Earnshaw that it was just a fever, her pulse is down now, and that her cheeks are cool. He leads Hindley to believs that she will become healthy in due time. One night though, Frances begins coughing and it turns fatal enough to the point that she dies in the hands of her beloved Hindley. The death of Frances takes a mighty toll on Hindley. The whole house observes that "the master's bad ways and bad companions formed a pretty example for Catherine and Heathcliff" (68). Hindley begins drinking out of his agony and tries to find a balance in life. However, he does not make the best of choices. He begins to torment his servants and treats them terribly. Heathcliff, on the other hand, enjoys the gradual decline of Hindley's mind and body due to their ongoing rivalry. Hindley's drinking does not only affect him, but it also affects those around him: the servants, Heathcliff, Catherine, Hareton, his son, and Nelly Dean. Growing up in a family when the father abuses alcohol creates a life for disaster. Later on in the next few chapters, Hindley's drinking becomes a problem and makes him "possessed of something diabolical" (68). His drinking takes on a whole new level, to the point that a life may be taken. Sam Knell Chapters 9-12 Emily Bronte continues to show the affects of Death on the novel as a whole and in addition how it affects the plot. Hindley continues to reveal his enraging spirit in Chapter 9 and how it is affected by the sudden death of Frances, his beloved wife. Out of outrage upon returning from his drinking spree, Hindley stares Nelly Dean square in the eyes and says "I want to kill some of you: I shall have no rest till I do!" (77). He immediately grabs Nelly Dean and holds the knife "and pushes its point between Nelly's teeth" (77). Because of his immediate and sudden loss of his wife, Hindley loses a sense of control so he turns to alcohol. Proven by his words and actions, alcohol does not aid those in distress and difficult times in some cases. After throwing Nelly Dean aside, he spots his own son, Hareton. Rather than looking at his son and realizing how wonderful and precious his son is and how grateful he should be to have given a son, he says to Hareton, "Damn thee...As sure as I'm living, I'll break the brat's neck" (78). What kind of loving father says this to an infant, let alone another person in general? Not a sane one that is for sure. Hindley's actions and behavior further elevates the drastic affects of Death upon many characters throughout the book. Chapters 13-16 In Chapters 13-16, Catherine Linton becomes seriously ill, even to the verge of death. Moments before Catherine's death, Heathcliff sees her and they profess their love for each other and Catherine tells Heathcliff that she never wants to leave him. The life that Catherine lived is a symbolic form of Death because even though she was not physically dead yet, her soul was not in the right place. Her soul was dying and aching for peace. Later on Catherine dies and Heathcliff is told about her death by Nelly Dean. Upon hearing the news, Heathcliff takes it very poorly because it is a drastic blow to the heart. Nelly Dean says that Heathcliff "compressed his mouth and he held a silent combat with his inward agony" (179). He then goes on to continue urging on Catherine's ghost to follow him and torment him all of his days because "he cannot live without his life! He cannot live without his soul!" (180). The death of Catherine clearly has penetrated deep into Heathcliff's heart primarily because of their wonderful relationship together, even though they were split apart for awhile. Chapters 17-20 In Chapter 17, Death plots its schemes throughout the whole chapter. Six months after Catherine's death, Hindley, the father of Haretoon, dies as well. In the previous chapters, Hindley gambled Heathcliff's money away and the only way to pay his debt is to hand over the possession of Wuthering Heights to Heathcliff. He does so, which although is his only choice, it is not a pleasing one. Furthermore, when Hindley dies, Heathcliff now has the right to take possession of Hareton, Hindley's biological son, and Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff does not let Hareton go to Thrushcross Grange, but instead plans on raising Hareton as his own son. Because of Hindley's death, Heathcliff gains an immense amount of power. Hindley's death and debt has given one of the most insane man on the moors a great amount of power and control. Catherine's death and Hindley's death are the two main reasons why Heathcliff has gained so much power. Chapters 21-24 In Chapters 21-24, not a single soul specifically dies but it is clear that two males are close to it: Linton and Edgar. Catherine, who loves both of them is in turmoil due to these two men close to death as it appears. Edgar caught a cold that "confined him indoors" for the whole entire winter, making him not nearly as close to Catherine as they once were (Bronte 248). Catherine has several conversations with Nelly Dean about how much she is afraid that Edgar Linton will die before her and she is left alone. In addition, Linton has also gone ill. Because of his illness, he is mandated to stay home in bed to regain his strength which clearly declines as the book progresses. Although both men are not dead at this point in the book, Catherine is in turmoil because a man she loves and her own father have become ill. Linton's health declines by the day so the unknown of Linton's time on earth affects Catherine all of the time. Chapters 25-28 In Chapters 25-28, Edgar's health dramatically decreases and takes a turn for the worst. He is to remain in bed, being treated by doctors and nursed by Nelly Dean and Cathy. Heathcliff has seized his chance of opportunity and plays his cards correctly. He traps Nelly Dean and Cathy in Wuthering Heights and takes them as "prisoners". Cathy, against her own will, is forced to marry Linton if they ever wish to return home to Edgar who's health has plummeted. Cathy absolutely would not marry Linton at the moment because she clearly states to Linton, "I love papa better than you!" (Bronte 296). Her love for her father is the only driving force that supports her actions. Without the last few days of her father's life, Cathy would refuse to marry Linton. Heathcliff is also using Edgar's death and the marriage between Cathy and Linton as a diabolical plan. Once Edgar dies, Cathy owns all of Thrushcross Grange. When Cathy and Linton get married, then the property would pass on to Linton, the husband. Finally, since Heathcliff is so manipulative and deceiving, he will ultimately own the property, ruling everything and containing a great amount of power. Chapters 29-31 In Chapters 29-31, Cathy is taken back to Wuthering Heights by Heathcliff after Edgar's funeral. Linton has been punished for his actions: releasing Cathy to go back to Wuthering Heights. Upon arrival of Wuthering Heights, Cathy runs up to her room. While at the house, she attends Linton all of the time, becoming his nurse. Linton's health rapidly decreases and when Cathy pleads with Heathcliff about getting a doctor to save him, Heathcliff replies, "his life is not worth a farthing, and I won't spend a farthing on him" (Bronte 316). Heathcliff has absolutely no compassion or affection towards his son, Linton. Due to his decision to not get a doctor, Linton dies in the middle of the night. When Heathcliff comes into the room and sees Cathy kneeling beside him he asks how she is doing and she responds, "I should feel well--but...you have left me so long to struggle against death alone, that I feel and see only death! I feel like death!" (Bronte 318). Death has clearly taken its toll on Cathy because Cathy is so immune to death by this point. She is corrupted by Death throughout this whole entire novel. Now since Linton has passed away, Catherine is left alone to live with the ones she hate most. Chapters 32-34 In the closing chapters of the novel, ''Wuthering Heights, young Catherine and Hareton become fond of each other and forgive each other after serveral arguments and disputes. They profess their love for each other, even in the midst of Heathcliff's rage. In the last few chapters, Heathcliff has an "appearance of joy under his black brows" (Bronte 355). It is never clear why he has this smile about him, but he tells Nelly that he has seen his heaven. He proceeds to tell Nelly exactly how he wants himself to be buried and how the funeral ceremony should go after his death. Heathcliff dies later on and Hareton, the most wronged, grieves the most over Heathcliff's death. All trouble is vanished within the book because Heathcliff has gone home to his love, Catherine, and young Catherine and Hareton are in love. Heathcliff's rage and anger towards everyone he surrounds himself with is gone.